Taboo
by SugarKane Montgomery
Summary: Arizona Robbins, college sophomore and local lothario, hooks up with a beautiful stranger in a local bar. Three weeks later, she finds out that not only is the woman attending the same university as her but also that she has won the affections of Arizona's older brother Tim.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Mermaidsocks helped edit the first part of that. Gotta mention her with great gratitude. Um...not much to say. Review if you want to. For people who haven't read my other fic, if you want to get in contact with me outside of this website, you can visit my tumblr which I am always on. Sugarkanemontgomery/tumblr/com.**

 **Also, Review.**

 **Because I'll be sad if you don't. You can be mean, i don't care. But you know be nice about it if you are...Also looking for a Beta person. Message me if you're interested. Wooop**

* * *

When Arizona finds Callie Torres standing in the living room of her uptown condo Saturday night, there are two things she becomes immediately certain of.

One, Callie Torres is probably the sexiest creature this side of the Mason-Dixon Line. And two, she is definitely the same woman the blonde had pressed up against a restroom stall three weeks ago.

"Arizona!" Tim calls to his sister eagerly, his right hand lain lightly on the small of Callie's back. He'd been talking nonstop about his date for almost a week, fawning over the gorgeous girl he'd met in microbiology.

 _She's perfect, Arizona. You would love her._

"This is Callie Torres, my date!" Tim announces the last part like an excited child, gesturing grandly toward the brunette as if she were some prized show pony. Almost unconsciously, Arizona's eyes follow the movement of his hands, sliding quickly down the other woman's form. She can't help but survey her short, fitted dress, taking note of the way its low hanging v-neck hints teasingly at her cleavage.  
"Arizona?" She sounds slightly surprised, her voice just a pitch too high, and Arizona wonders fleetingly if the other woman thinking the same thing she is.

 _I've seen you naked._

"This is the genius little sister I've been telling you about," Tim cuts in to clarify as Callie's eyes move curiously back and forth between the two blondes. Arizona can almost see the little cogs turning in her head, her brown eyes surveying and noting every similarity. After a few moments, a tiny bewildered smile forms on her lips.

"Of course," she breathes, shaking her head slightly. "It's nice to meet you, Arizona." The moment the shorter woman catches Callie's dark eyes scanning over her figure, she regrets not dressing up for the occasion. Seriously, of all the clothes she could have been wearing in this moment, it had to be pajamas. And not just any pajamas. Pink pajamas. With animal print.

"It's nice to meet you, too," she responds noncommittally, crossing her arms in a weak attempt to cover the obvious paw prints on her top. "Tim's told me a lot about you." Arizona clears her throat uncomfortably, not used to being deceptive in front of her brother.

"Oh wow, really?" Callie questions, looking quite flattered, "What has he told you?"

The blonde relaxes a little under the other woman's friendly gaze, her blue eyes taking a second to flit over to Tim. "He told me that you are a pre-med major like me…although the way he talks about you, I'd assume you were already a world-class surgeon." Callie laughs, and Tim glares at his sister, small patches of red starting to tint his cheeks.

"Aww," Callie coos, looking up toward her date who gives her a small, bashful smile, "that's so sweet." They look at each other for a few long moments before Arizona finally clears her throat, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable.

"So uh," the blonde scrounges around for something to say, "Callie? That's a different name…is that uh short for something?"

Callie breaks eye contact with Tim to look at Arizona, a grimace taking over her features. "It's short for Calliope…but only my parents and my priest call me that. Thank god."

She laughs the last part, and Arizona smiles in return, eyes flitting briefly over to Tim who's still staring at Callie, completely enamored. Arizona can't help but roll her eyes. Tim has always been the more romantic sibling. He's always been the one actively searching for relationships and commitment, whereas his sister is more likely to have a one-night stand than a girlfriend. Tim insists that Arizona's inability to commit must stem from their childhood.

He says growing up in a military family fucked up her idea of normal. That it made her too accustomed to change, and now she don't know how to function in stability.

 _"It's like you're afraid to stay in one place …like you're afraid to wake up in the same bed twice."_

But Arizona doesn't really think her view on relationships has anything to do with her childhood, but rather everything to do with her experience. It's not like she just decided out of the blue that romantic love can never be sustained. She's tried the relationship thing numerous times, and each time it has consistently proven to be pointless.

First, there was Joanne Harthsmith, Arizona's high school sweetheart who decided that she was more interested in dry-humping Sarah Glother than being in a committed relationship. Then there was Lisa Wittenfield who dumped Arizona out of the blue after coming to the realization that, despite her previous assertions otherwise, she was still incredibly heterosexual.

And then lastly, and perhaps most memorably, there was Mary Barish, Arizona's girlfriend during her first year of college. She was an Art History major at a liberal arts college not far from the University of Washington, and the two met at a block party at the beginning of the school year.

She had exactly 23 freckles around her nose (Arizona knows because she counted). She liked sushi, chimaki, and generally all Japanese food. Her favorite band was Led Zeppelin, and on long car rides, she'd play them exclusively. She was insanely talkative, too. She used to talk so much for so long that sometimes Arizona would just get lost in her words, in her sound. The blonde remembers one time in particular being woken up in the middle of night because Mary wanted to have a one-sided conversation about Greek Naturalism.

She was perfect. Or at least, Arizona thought she was perfect.

The kind of perfection that only someone in love would think another person.

And that's exactly what it was, Arizona realizes now; love. Stupid, blind love. It made her weak. It made her compromising. And most importantly, it made her overlook the one gigantic problem with Mary Barish.

The woman was not yet out of the closet.

Which meant that hand-holding in public was out of the question. Any date before 5 PM was forbidden. And there was to be no meeting of the parents. The two dated for 9 months and 27 days. Long enough to conceive and birth a baby, but not long enough for Mary to feel ready to come out.

No. She wanted to stay hidden and secretive, and Arizona wanted the exact opposite.

The relationship ended sometime in May, over a phone call with Mary muttering something about their relationship being 'too much.' Too complicated. And Arizona, being too prideful and too angry to beg for her love any longer. After that day, Mary proceeded to detach herself from the blonde, severing their bonds as if they had never existed. As if she had never been in love at all.

So yeah, Arizona is a little pessimistic about relationships and love.

But Tim isn't. Which is why every time he meets a girl that he has even the slightest connection with, he stares at them like he's staring at Callie now. Like she's magical. Breath-taking.

"Calliope," Arizona repeats the name, pursing her lips in consideration. "Your parents have a thing for Greek mythology?"

Her eyebrows rise slightly like she's impressed as a quiet little snort slips from her throat. "Yeah…unfortunately."

"It's not a bad name, you know." Arizona catches Callie's eyes for the first time. "It's really pretty, actually."

Callie holds her gaze for a few moments before finally looking away. "Thank you," she says demurely, and Arizona nods, glancing over to Tim who's been watching the interaction in intrigued silence. "I should probably get back to studying." Arizona points her thumb behind in the general direction of her bedroom. "It was nice meeting you though, Callie."

She nods, smiling at the other woman. "You too Arizona."

* * *

Later on that day, the crew, Arizona, April, and Alex, meet up at the redhead's small campus apartment. It's cozy and well-decorated; the redhead's affinity for warm colors evident in her brown furniture and orange and red decorations. Arizona is quietly reading some medical journal on long-term chelation therapy while April is scrolling through something on her phone with her head in Arizona's lap and her toned legs dangling over the arm of the couch. Both women are nodding absently as Alex rants yet again about his biology class. Some "prissy" girl named Jo is his partner in lab and apparently she's a "total freaking moron." He's been talking about her every day this week.  
"Alex," April finally cuts in, moving the phone slightly down so she can look at the irritable man, "if you don't like her, request a partner change." Alex just turns toward the redhead, his eyes set in that special Alex-glare.

"Thanks for the input, Virgin Mary. But Professor Hahn is a hard-ass. No way she'll let me switch," he crosses his arms, "Especially now since we're already a week in."

Arizona looks over the top of her medical journal. "Why are you being such a baby? You've had bad lab partners before."

He makes a face at the blonde, grunting something lowlybefore moving toward the kitchen.

"How come there's never any food in this dump?" Alex criticizes, opening the virtually empty fridge. Both women pick up on the fact that he just tried to change the subject. Arizona lays her medical journal down on the couch and gives Alex a withering look.

"Okay spill."

"Spill what?" he asks confusedly.

"What's your real issue with this Jo person?"

He narrows his eyes like he has no idea what Arizona is talking about. "I already told you. She's a friggin' moron."

"Is that it?" Arizona pushes knowingly, tilting her head to the side. Alex has always had a weird way of showing his affection for people. When they first met freshmen year, he referred to her exclusively as "roller skate girl' due to the fact that she wore heelys the first day of school. It took a lot of exposure and understanding for Arizona to realize that Alex did indeed like her; he was just absolutely terrible at expressing it. And from the little that she knew about his upbringing, it made complete sense.

"She talks nonstop. Constantly screws up," he starts another tirade before pausing briefly in thought. "She's one of those no talent, trust-fund baby types I can tell."

Arizona watches the man for a moment more, her eyes widening slightly when it all finally clicks. She smiles down at April who seems to have drawn the same conclusion she has.

"So…" the blonde starts, raising her eyebrows observantly, "how long have you liked this girl?"

Alex stiffens, furrowing his brow. "I don't."

"You totally do," April inserts, finally sitting up on the couch.

"She's annoying," he says.

"So are you," the redhead fires back, and Arizona laughs. "It's a perfect pairing."

Alex scrunches his face up in irritation. "How about you worry about your own relationship, Miss 'I'm Obsessed with Jackson Avery'."

April glares at him, and Arizona rolls her eyes at both of them. She is certain that if she wasn't here mediating , the two would kill each other.

"Guys," she interrupts their eye-fighting, deciding to lay off of Alex for the moment. "There's something I forgot to tell you earlier." She didn't actually forget to tell them; she just didn't want to talk about it then.

"What?" April asks.

"Well, something weird happened today," the blonde starts, an uncomfortable smile on her lips, "You remember that brunette I hooked up with at Joe's Bar?"

Alex snorts, leaning against wall of the archway separating April's kitchen from her living room. "You're going to have to be a lot more specific than that, Casanova." Arizona shoots him an annoyed look but decides to explain further anyway, on some level acknowledging that he's right.

"She's super pretty. Tall. Tan…We ended up in the restroom?" Arizona looks between both of her friends, and it takes a few minutes for her description to finally click.

"Ohhh yeah; I remember her," April finally says, her face lighting with recognition "What about her?"

"Well, it turns out…" Arizona pauses, trying to figure out the right way to say it before quickly deciding there is no right way, "She's dating my brother."

Both listeners' eyebrows shoot up. "Whoa, dude." Alex lets the _intelligent_ comment linger in the air while April's mouth hangs open in disapproval.

"Was this before or after she had sex with you in a restroom?"

Arizona scrunches up her nose. "They're having their first date today, so I'm going to say after."

"How did you find out about it?" April questions though Arizona barely has a chance to answer before the redhead starts interrogating her, "Did she know you were his sister? Is she using him to get close to you? Do you think she's planning to—"

"April, would you shut up," Alex interrupts annoyedly, "This isn't a Lifetime movie."

The redhead narrows her eyes at him. "It might as well be."

"Look guys, I don't think she knew," Arizona starts, refocusing the conversation, "She seemed just as surprised as I was."

Both sets of eyes set on the blonde, waiting for her to expand on the situation.

"It happened out of nowhere. I was in my room," Arizona starts to detail how it happened, "and Tim calls me to come to the living room. I assume he wants me to meet his date, which he does," Arizona sighs, "But I walk into the room, and there she is."

"Did you tell Tim?" April asks, and a grimace takes over Arizona's expression.

"Tim would die if he knew. He would _literally_ fall over and die." A beat passes. "Plus, I think they really like each other. No need for me to get in the way of that."

Her two friends nod, still looking slightly shocked by the news. After a few quiet minutes, Alex claps his hands in front of him.

"Well, I guess that's that then." His words come out a bit insensitive, causing April rolls her eyes. "Now, can we go get something to eat? I'm starving, and Red doesn't believe in storing food."

* * *

By the time Arizona makes it home, it's three hours later, and Callie and Tim still aren't back.

At first, the fact slightly bothers her, but she pushes away the discomfort quickly.

 _They're both adults. They can stay out as long as they want._

The blonde takes off her light blue bomber jacket before tossing it over the back of the couch. She gets a bottle of water from the refrigerator and a granola bar from the pantry and heads toward her bedroom, deciding that maybe she could sneak in some studying tonight. All during dinner, April and Alex were worrying over their quickly approaching finals, and Arizona realized that she had done little to no preparation. The least she could do is try to study.

But by the time she makes it to her room and sets up a little study center on her bed, the doorbell rings followed by a few quiet knocks.

 _Probably Tim and Callie_ , Arizona thinks as she gets out of bed and makes her way to the door.

When she opens it, she finds Tim, eyes half-lidded, leaning heavily on Callie who, to her credit, looks pretty much unfazed by the obvious drunkenness of her companion.

"Hi," she greets, flashing a bright smile at Arizona, "We had a drinking competition."

Arizona raises her eyebrows, watching as her brother hangs limply onto Calle's shoulder. "And I'm guessing he lost."

"Pretty much." The brunette nods, laughing a little as she tries to move the heavy man into the condo.

"Your brother's kind of a lightweight," Callie jokes, sending the other woman a grateful look as she helps her sit an intoxicated Tim on the couch. Almost immediately, he falls over, his head dropping heavily on the arm of the sofa. A loud groan escapes his mouth.

"I feel like death," he slurs, shutting his eyes tightly. Arizona shakes her head, watching her brother for a moment before patting him affectionately on the cheek. It doesn't take long for him to begin quietly snoring, his mouth hanging open unflatteringly.

 _Callie was right. He is a lightweight._

The shorter woman looks up toward the seemingly sober brunette, only to find the woman already staring at her, a curious glint in her eyes.

"What? The blonde asks, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"Nothing," Callie smiles, laughing quietly to herself. "I was just thinking about how I obviously have a type." Arizona rolls her eyes, grimacing as she remembers the fact that she's had sex with someone her brother is dating.

"Yeah…is it the blonde hair, blue eyes thing? A lot of people like that," she comments, and Callie shrugs, the straps of her dress slipping a little off her shoulders. Arizona's eyes can't help but linger on her tan skin, admiring the way it contrasts with her black dress strap.

"I think it's more the dimples," she says, her eyes scanning over Arizona's face before looking away and back to Tim. A few moments pass before she speaks again. "Are you going to tell him?"

 _Is she crazy? Hell no, I'm not gonna tell Tim._ "Probably not," the blonde responds.

She nods quietly before looking back at Arizona. "Good…I don't want him to think I'm..." she pauses like she's searching for the right way to put it, and Arizona is immediately reminded the various arguments she had with Mary that started out just like this.

 _"We don't have to tell people Arizona. It's our relationship, not theirs."_

 _"I don't want my parents to look at me like I'm…like I'm a disappointment."_

 _"You don't understand! My friends aren't as accepting as yours!"_

Arizona waits with bated breath for some comment like that to come out, but all she gets instead is a tiny giggle and a sigh. "I don't want your brother to think I'm the kind of girl who hooks up in public restrooms."

The blonde lets out a small, relieved laugh. For some reason, it satisfies her greatly that Callie isn't like that. That Callie isn't Mary Barish.

"I think he'd probably be more upset by the fact that it was with his sister than about it being in a restroom."

Callie shrugs, sighing a bit guiltily. "Well, that part couldn't have been avoided."

Arizona furrows her brow at the other woman. "You couldn't have avoided sleeping with me?"

She doesn't answer immediately, her brown eyes scanning Arizona's face quietly. They both can't help but think about the night they met three weeks ago.

 _"You're too pretty to be in this place alone, you know that?"_

 _"Oh, am I?"_

 _"Absolutely," Arizona says taking the barstool next to the pretty brunette, "A pretty girl alone at the bar is basically catnip for trouble. Just wait. Some smooth-talker is going to come over here and offer to buy you a drink."_

 _"Ah," Callie smiles tilting her head toward the attractive blonde. "I don't know about that. I've been here for a while, and no one's offered to buy me a drink yet."_

 _Arizona lets her mouth hang open like she's just heard the greatest injustice in the world. "What a shame!" She brings her hand up to rest gently on Callie's shoulder before letting it slide down the length of her arm. "Let me be the first then. It'd be my honor."_

Callie clears her throat awkwardly, decisively bringing them both back from memory lane. "I didn't know you were Tim's sister, so…probably couldn't have been avoided."

"Anyways," she says after a moment, "Tell Tim to call me when he wakes up."

Arizona nods, watching the other woman pat Tim's leg before making a quick exit.

* * *

Over the next month, Arizona sees Callie more and more, mostly before and after her dates with Tim. They usually just exchange passing smiles or head nods. Nothing substantial. But sometimes, every now and then, they'd have enough time to talk, to get to know each other.

 _"So why the name Arizona?" Callie inquires, leaning over the light green sofa in the middle of the living room. The blonde notices immediately the way the top of her breasts are more noticeable from this angle, the neck of the brunette's t-shirt drooping just a bit. She turns away slightly, feeling a smidge guilty for looking now. She's Tim's girl afterall._

 _"Did you parents have a thing for desert basins?" Callie inquires jokingly, a small smile on her lips. "Maybe cacti?...Perhaps the Phoenix Suns?"_

 _Arizona laughs, rolling her eyes at the other woman._

 _"No, God no... I'm not named after the state," she explains, and Callie furrows her brow, "I was named for a battleship. The U.S.S. Arizona. My grandfather was serving on the Arizona when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and he saved nineteen men before he drowned…Pretty much everything my father did his whole life was about honoring that sacrifice."_

 _Arizona shrugs. "My father always said he wanted me to be 'a good man in a storm'."_

 _Callie looks at her in understanding. "So he named you in honor of one…I get it."_

After this conversation, Callie had taken to calling Arizona 'Battleship' which the blonde actively detested. Her dislike of it though only seemed fuel the brunette who soon enough start regularly greeting her with the moniker. Despite this though, Arizona had developed a strong fondness for Callie. Not in a romantic way, she told herself, but she could envision being friends with the other woman if only they could meet in some situation separate from Tim.

Arizona shakes her head, commanding herself to focus on studying. She could think about her relationship Callie later.

"Superoxide, hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen peroxide can be generated by normal cellular processes," Arizona reads over her notes, trying valiantly to commit each definition to memory. Finals are coming up in two months, and all the procrastinating she's done is starting to catch up to her. She probably should have been memorizing the material months ago, or at least, trying to re-acquaint herself with it, but honestly, it is just so boring.

Arizona is more of a hands-on type of girl. She likes interning at hospitals and volunteering at research facilities. She likes seeing all the good she can do; she likes feeling it in her palms, experiencing it. Reading out of a textbook for hours is nowhere near hands-on. It feels tedious and pointless, and Arizona hates every bit of it. But she knows she has to do it. Pre-med is full of technical definitions and vocabulary charts; it's not the kind of major to luck your way through, and the final exam for it is not one you can easily pass without studying. April and Karev already thought about this and assembled a study group almost two months ago. And technically yes, Arizona is a part of it, but she rarely ever shows up to the meetings, and when she does, she rarely gets anything out of it.

It seems nothing will click.

She sighs heavily, looking at her scribbled in notebook. Half of the stuff she jotted down is illegible, and the other half is half-assed definitions that she probably should've rewritten months ago.

"God, I'm so screwed," she groans, throwing her head back against her soft, brightly colored pillow. Her pity party is short-lived though, as soon after it begins, it is interrupted by two loud laughs. Callie and Tim are in the living room watching some action movie, and by the steadily increasing volume of their laughter and commentary, Arizona wonders if they've forgotten that she's trying to study. She gets up from her bed slightly annoyed and walks to the living room intent on shushing the two, but when she finally gets there, they both start talking before she can.

"Look who's finally come out of her room." Callie notices her first, flashing her a teasing smile.

"Sis!" Tim hits the pause button on the remote quickly before turning to Arizona. "Finally done studying?"

The blonde looks at the two all cuddled up on the couch. Tim's arm is around Callie's shoulder and the brunette is tucked into his side.

 _Gross_ , she thinks to herself.

"No, actually, I'm nowhere near done studying, and the noise level in here is making it even harder." The words come out a little biting, but it's mostly due to Arizona's frustration at her situation rather than anything they did.

Tim grimaces, sensing his sister's obvious attitude. Callie tilts her head in confusion, giving the blonde a curious gaze. "What classes are you studying for?"

"Molecular Biology and Organic chemistry. Finals are coming up soon."

"Oh, how long have you been studying?"

Arizona bites the inside of her cheek. "I started today."

"Oh, Wow, okay…" Callie says warily, "Good luck with that, I guess."

"What does that mean?" Arizona inquires.

"Nothing…I just remember those finals being really intense."

Arizona let out a low groan and Callie eyes her sympathetically. "I'm screwed," the blonde says with resignation in her voice.

"Wait, wait, maybe not…"Tim cuts in, looking between the both of them thoughtfully, "What if Callie tutored you?... I mean, she's crazy smart, and she's aced all the exams she's taken."

Arizona looks at the other woman curiously, and she simply shrugs in return. "He's not lying."

"Well… would you be okay with that?" the blonde asks, not wanting to force Callie into something she didn't want to do.

"Yeah, I could be your tutor," she answers, "But I must warn you. The Torres Method is rigorous. It's not for the faint of heart."

Arizona snorts rolling her eyes at Callie. "Just tell me when we're starting. It needs to be as soon as possible."

"It can be tomorrow," the brunette responds easily, "Give me your number I'll text you the rest of the info later."

They exchange numbers quickly, and soon, Arizona goes back to her room. And Callie and Tim continue watching their movie, though now they're both a little bit quieter.

* * *

"Okay?" April responds sleepily from the end of the line, "Explain to me again why you're up at 6 AM."

"Because Callie just texted me!"

"Um okay…" April says slowly, listening in confusion as Arizona frantically shuffles around her room, "Explain to me again why that's a big deal."

"Well, she said she'd text me the info about our study session later, but I thought she meant we'd plan it later, not that she'd text me out of the blue to come meet up with her."

April sighs loudly, and Arizona can hear the soft rustle of sheets. "I fail to see why that warranted you waking me up."

"It's just…" Arizona begins, trying to find a good way to explain herself, "This is the first time Callie and I have hung out—I mean, not that we're really hanging out because we're just studying but still, you know?"

April groans loudly. "The only thing I know is that you're crazy, and I'm going back to sleep."

With that, the phone goes dead, and Arizona grunts in displeasure.

 _I hope she remember this next time she calls me to rant about Jackson and Stephanie!_

* * *

By the time Arizona, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a tight shirt, gets there, Callie is already sitting on a bench near the main gate of the park. She's wearing this fitted black and white jogging suit, and her hair is pulled into a tight, neat ponytail.

"Hey," the blonde says perkily with a slight undercurrent of nervousness. The brunette turns her head toward Arizona, an immediate smile adorning her lips.

"Hi there." She stands up from the bench, one earbud dangling loosely against her shirt and the other one pushed into her left ear. "Let's get started," she says stretching a bit, and Arizona tries not to pay attention to the way her shirt rides up, revealing the smooth skin of her belly.

"We do four laps around the park, maybe five if I'm not tired," Callie explains, gesturing toward the park track. Arizona stares at her, slightly confused.

"Um…what does jogging around a park have to do with studying?"

The brunette simply purses her lips before cocking an eyebrow. "First rule of the Torres Method: No backtalk, Battleship." With that she starts jogging, not even bothering to look back and make certain that Arizona is following her. The blonde's hangs open slightly as she watches the back of Callie's fleeting form.

 _What the heck?_ Arizona thinks, huffing in confused irritation. After a second two of contemplating though, the blonde decides to follow anyway, yelling indignantly behind her mentor, "Okay fine! But stop calling me Battleship!"

Arizona spends the first ten minutes of their jog unsuccessfully trying to get Callie to speak to her.

 _"What are we doing?"_

 _"We have to do four laps of this?"_

 _"Ahh, my ankle hurts; can we take a break?"_

 _"No offense, but the Torres method kinda sucks."_

After realizing that the brunette was completely ignoring her (highlighted by the fact that five minutes into the run Callie put in her other earbud), Arizona decided any attempts at conversation were futile. So she spent the rest of the first lap in complete, though quite displeasing, silence.

It is only after they begin their second lap that Callie finally speaks again, easily and confidently like she hadn't spent the first part of the run in total silence.

"What happens to tumor suppressor proteins when genes mutate?" she inquires abruptly, taking out one of her earbuds.

Arizona looks over at her quickly, surprised by the sudden question.

"Um…" the blonde wracks her brain for a bit, "It messes up something with their functioning, I think…?"

"Expand." Callie pushes, speeding up slightly around a curve in the park's track. Arizona has a hard time catching up with her while simultaneously trying to think of the answer.

"Can you slow down a bit?" the blonde requests when she finally comes side-by-side with the quick-footed woman. Callie looks over at her for the first time since they started running, her brown eyes calm and yet challenging.

"I'll slow down when you answer the question," she says before facing forward again. Arizona grunts in disapproval, glaring at the brunette.  
"Why are you being so difficult?"  
"Why don't you know what tumor suppressor proteins do?"

"I so do know," Arizona asserts quickly, trying to save face.

"Oh okay…So what do they do then?"

Arizona looks over at Callie, lips pursed in annoyance. The blonde hates being wrong; she absolutely hates it.

"Okay fine, Callie" Arizona acquiesces, "what do they do?"

"Ah, Grasshopper, I see you are ready to learn." She does a terrible Mr. Miyagi impression when she says this and then snorts loudly at her own joke. "But I require all my students to refer to me exclusively as Grandmaster…as a sign of respect."

Arizona rolls her eyes. "Callie," she says disapprovingly. "I'm not going to call you Grandmaster."

"It's mandatory."

"Calliope."

"What? It is."

The blonde simply sighs, exasperated (though part of her can't help being slightly charmed). Callie glances over at the younger woman, laughing when she sees a look of annoyance adorning her features.

"Okay fine, you big baby," she teases, rolling her eyes.

"A tumor suppressor gene," Callie starts explaining, "controls the protein that regulates cell division. When genes mutate, it disrupts the functioning of these cells, meaning they can no longer monitor cell division. Which is the entire definition of cancer, uncontrolled division of cells."

Arizona slams her palm into her forehead. "Duh, of course. I'm stupid."

"Nah…you just have to study the material," Callie excuses easily, "Which is why I'm here."

A small smile forms on Arizona's lips as she looks over toward her "grandmaster". "I was starting to think you only took this gig to tease me."

"Well, yeah that was main reason," Callie jokes, smiling at Arizona briefly "…but now that I see you genuinely need help, I can't turn you away. I'm still a Peace Corps girl at heart."

Arizona's eyebrows rise dramatically. "Whoa, you were in the Peace Corps?"

The brunette shrugs before dismissively flicking her wrist. "For a little bit yeah. We can talk about that another time."

"What? No. You can't mention it, and then not talk about it. You were in the Peace Corps! That's awesome!"

Callie's cheeks tint a little before she starts to pick up pace, simultaneously putting in her earphone.

"Callie?" Arizona huffs after her, noticing the change in speed. "What the heck?"

The brunette doesn't reply. Just continues in her jog, ignoring the trailing sophomore.

"You are literally running away from me right now, Calliope!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Review and what not, that'd be dandy.**

 _ **AZsgirl: They haven't had sexy time yet.**_

* * *

It's one of those idyllic spring mornings.

The only sounds in the park are the steady pitter patter of seasoned runners and the shrill chirping of nearby swallows. Pollen hangs in the air, heavy but not stifling, just enough to cover everything in a thin sheet of yellow. Callie is as steady in her stride as always, her ponytail waving behind her like a stringy flag while Arizona trails closely behind, protest on her lips.

"I'm just saying, Callie," the blonde reasons, her breathing a bit more labored as they make their fourth and final lap around the track. "If I'm going to be running for two hours, I think I deserve a little compensation."

A loud, annoyed sigh comes from the other woman who intentionally quickens her pace hoping to shake off her persistent pupil. "I'm helping you prepare for finals. That's your compensation."

Arizona groans at the answer.

They've been doing this every morning for four days.

Running and studying.

And Arizona has yet to get accustomed to the long stretches of silence; it's not that they're particularly uncomfortable. It's just that something in her always wants to fill them, always wants to make conversation.

Callie is the exact opposite; she likes to run quietly and think. And to her merit, these past four days have had the best kind of atmosphere for silent introspection. Calm and warm, not yet tainted by Seattle's notorious spring showers.

"Callie, think of it as positive reinforcement," the blonde proposes, and the other woman snorts loudly in response.

"You mean the way they train dogs?"

Arizona rolls her eyes. "I just think it would be more fun if I got to ask you things, too."

"We are _studying_. I ask you questions to help _teach_ you. It's not supposed to be fun," Callie exasperates, causing the other woman to click her tongue defiantly. "Unless you want to ask me about the structure of Aromatic Hydrocarbon, it's not a fair trade."

"Come on, Calliope. Don't be a downer."

The blonde has been becoming more and more interested in learning about her new mentor. It's mostly because of all the contact they've had lately between their daily study sessions and their before-date chats. Plus, they just have this 'natural camaraderie' as Arizona explained to April before when the redhead inquired about their relationship. The other woman had been convinced that there was something romantic brewing, but the blonde had quickly dismissed the assumption. Callie and she were strictly platonic if anything. Of course, she recognized how attractive the other woman was (for god's sake they've slept together), but she was dating Tim, and Arizona would never cross that line. Ever.

Besides the sophomore wasn't looking for a relationship anyway. Been there. Done that.

"Why?" Callie inquires genuinely at loss. The other woman had propositioned this yesterday and hadn't let up since. It wasn't that Callie was completely opposed to the idea. She didn't mind talking to Arizona; in fact, she enjoyed it. The blonde was incredibly funny and sweet, but it just simply wasn't part of her method. None of this banter was supposed to be happening; they were supposed to be serious and focused, but for some reason the sophomore just couldn't stop and Callie had ended up being quite the enabler.

"Why not?" Arizona responds, flashing the brunette a dimpled grin. "Come on, it'll be fun." Callie tries to shoot the other woman a glare, but it quickly falls way smile. _Such an enabler._ She shakes her head quickly, trying to regain her resolve.

"Because," the brunette starts firmly, "This is a _study_ session. If you want to ask me about something unrelated to Organic Chemistry or Molecular Biology, do it afterwards." Her words come out all strict and adult-y, and Callie can't help but be a little proud of herself.

That is before her blonde pupil counters rather quickly (and surprisingly). "Fine then, come to breakfast with me." It's meant to come out as a casual offer, playful and relaxed, but for some reason, the suddenness of it makes it sound more like a demand. Arizona bites the inside of her cheek, slightly embarrassed. "It's just—I don't have class until nine," she tries to explain, "So you know, if you wanted to…or whatever. No biggie."

A beat of awkward silence passes before the older woman finally nods.

"Sure," she agrees, turning her head to face the other woman who's now at her side, "But for the rest of this lap, we study."

Arizona opens her mouth to protest but quickly decides not to push her luck. She's silently excited that she'll get to hang out with Callie in a less formal setting. It's hard to get to know someone when you're constantly being shushed or quizzed. It isn't until fifteen minutes later that the brunette finally slows to a stop and turns around. Her breathing is a little hard from the running as her hands come to rest tiredly on her hips.

"Okay," she exhales, wiping tiny droplets of sweat from her brow, "What do you have in mind?"

* * *

They end up going to a diner not too far away from the park. Arizona picks it out because it's small and homey and pastel-colored, and if there's one thing that Callie has learned from seeing the inside of the other woman's condo, it's that she loves pastels. There's the soft sound of soul music playing in the background, but not the popular kind of soul music. It's the kind that you know must have been burnt onto someone's personal CD and played over the speakers.

Callie orders French toast and black coffee while Arizona settles on blueberry pancakes and poached eggs. As soon as their orders arrive, the brunette drowns her toast in a river of lukewarm maple syrup and begins haphazardly slicing into it; her blonde companion watches on, slightly appalled.

"You know they flavor the toast right?" Arizona inquires critically, causing her mentor to pause mid-bite.

"Hm?"

"They flavor the toast," she repeats, gesturing toward the woman's syrupy plate. Callie looks down before looking back up, her eyes narrowed a bit.

"You can't invite me to breakfast and then judge the way I eat," Callie clucks before bringing a slice over-soaked bread to her lips.

"I'm not judging. I just," the blonde pauses, scrunching up her nose as the other woman proceeds to sop her remaining toast in the pool of syrup on her plate. "Wow." Her blonde brows dip a little lower, knitting together. "Are you really going to eat that?"

Callie locks eyes with the blonde, smirking as she lifts a piece of syrup-drenched bread to her lips. "Mmm," she moans dramatically as she takes it into her mouth.

"Wow," Arizona breathes again as Callie makes a show of licking her now empty fork, letting it slide leisurely against her lips. Something unrecognizable passes over the blonde's face as she watches the other woman, her eyes flicking down to the brunette's pouty lips briefly before looking away. She crosses her arms, clearing her throat awkwardly.

"Gross."

A loud, throaty laugh falls from Callie's mouth. "This is actually really delicious. You should try it."

The younger woman makes a 'gak' sound in the back of her throat which only serves to make Callie laugh again.

"No, thank you. I don't like syrup," Arizona states easily, and Callie's eyes widen in surprise.

"Everyone likes syrup…You're joking, right?

"I just don't see the appeal...It's sticky. It gets everywhere. It tastes like wet sugar." Arizona shrugs, and the other woman stares at her for a long moment, a disbelieving smile pulling at her lips.

"You're a very anal person, aren't you?" the brunette finally asks, her head tilting curiously. Arizona rolls her eyes at the other woman as a tiny snort falls from her mouth.

"I'm not anal," she answers easily, picking up her fork and knife and proceeding to cut her pancakes up into neat portions. Callie watches her friend, her lips pursed in amusement. "I just don't like to drown my food in sugar," Arizona explains, still looking down at her plate as she separates each wedge of pancake.

"Mhm," Callie hums disbelievingly though she can't help but smile as she watches the other woman lift a slice of pancake to her lips. She doesn't realize she's been staring quietly for a while until Arizona finally shoots her a questioning look.

"Are you just going to watch me eat?"

Callie's face reddens just a bit. "I wasn't watching," she excuses, moving her fork around her plate. The metal against ceramic makes an uncomfortable scraping sound. "I was just wondering how you can eat that entire pancake plain."

"It's not plain…It has blueberries."

The brunette makes a face and Arizona shoots her a teasing grin.

"You're lucky we're friends," Callie mumbles absently before taking a sip from her cup of coffee. She doesn't notice the change in Arizona's expression at her words. Soft and subtle…though something much heavier curls inside her stomach.

"Friends, huh?" the blonde tests, and Callie nods, giving her a sort of "duh" look.

"What else would we be?"

The words come out nonchalant and certain as Callie takes another long sip from her coffee cup. Arizona watches the other woman for a bit before looking away, a tiny smile pulling at her lips.

And then, as if some sort of cruel karma finally decides to kick in, a svelte familiar blonde waltzes through the diner's entrance. When Arizona catches sight of her over Callie's shoulder, she instantly grabs a menu from behind the table's condiment stand and props it up in front of her face. Callie furrows her brow in confusion.

"What are you doing?" She asks, reaching over to pull the menu away from the blonde, but Arizona slaps her hand away.

"Heather's here!"

This answer only serves to make the brunette more confused. "Who's Heather?"

"She's my ex…stalker?" Arizona whispers a bit uncertainly. The two never dated, but the amount that the crazy blonde was in her life, it sure seemed like it.

"Your ex-stalker?"

Callie tries to turn around, curious and surprised, but instantly Arizona grabs her hand, causing her to still and stiffen.

"She used to call me nonstop and follow me around everywhere. One time she came over, and we got into an argument, and she tried to stab me with a butter knife."

"What the hell!?" Callie blurted rather loudly, and Arizona looks over the menu for a moment to shoot her a scolding look.

"Don't draw her attention!" Arizona shushes, "I don't want Crazy McCrazy coming over here."

Callie shakes her head, her eyebrows almost touching her hairline. "This is insane."

"I _know_ ," the blonde stresses. "She's the reason I adopted a "one night only" rule."

There's a long pause where Callie doesn't respond, and then all of a sudden, Arizona's menu is yanked smoothly from her hands.

"A 'one night only' rule?" the brunette's eyes are slightly thinned into a scrutinizing stare, but Arizona's too busy scrambling to get her menu back to notice the other woman's expression. "Exactly how many women have you slept with, Arizona?" The question is asked in surprised curiosity as the brunette's mind immediately goes back to the night they met.

 _"Oh my god, you're so fucking good," Callie moans as Arizona props one of the her legs over her shoulder. "Y-You must do this alo—Ummff," her words get cut off by a sharp groan as the blonde suddenly pushes two fingers inside of her. Arizona looks up to see the other woman's eyes shut tightly and her face contort in pleasure. She smirks cockily, kissing the other woman's thigh as she continues to fuck her._

 _"No," the blonde says lowly before letting her tongue slide up against Callie's pretty caramel skin, "You're my first."_

 _Callie barely registers her words though because Arizona chooses soon after to move her tongue from the brunette's inner thigh to her soaking wet center._

 _"Ohhh fuckkk!" The taller woman groans loudly, banging her head against the plastic restroom partition._

"Uh…a few…" Arizona finally answers as a bashful smile takes over her lips. The brunette narrows her eyes even more, humming skeptically.

 _Her first, my ass._

But before she can ask anything else, Arizona releases a tiny gasp and dips down again this time lower.

"I've been spotted!"

Callie rolls her eyes. "Oh would you calm down."

"That woman tried to stab me, Calliope!" Arizona whispers disbelievingly.

"With a butter knife! It barely counts."

The blonde goes to shoot an annoyed glare at her friend but immediately seizes up again when she sees Heather slowly advancing in their direction.

 _Oh, goddamnit_

"Zona? Is that you?" Heather approaches the table, a wide, surprised smile on her face. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

 _Because I've been avoiding you, you nutjob._

Arizona sits up in her seat, a forced smile on her lips. "Hi, Heather."

She glances over to Callie who's giving her a tiny, humored smirk.

"It's been too long," Heather coos, staring affectionately at the blonde. Arizona just awkwardly smiles back, internally glaring as she watches her tutor swallow a laugh out of the corner of her eye.

"You haven't been answering my calls lately. I figured you were busy," the woman offers politely, and Arizona knows exactly where this is going. She sighs in quiet annoyance.

"Yeah, my classes have been really tough this semester."

"Oh, so it's just your classes?" Heather questions, laughing at the end in an attempt to make the inquiry seem casual. "There isn't any special someone keeping you distracted?"

Arizona again glances over to Callie who raises her eyebrows a bit surprised by the other woman's gall.

"Heather, I don't really want to talk about this, right now. Callie and I were kind of in the middle of breakfas—"

Arizona's statement is cut off by Heather who upon hearing the unfamiliar woman's name, makes a suspicious noise in the back of her throat. She turns toward the brunette, politely holding out her hand. "I'm sorry; it was rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Heather Martisse, and you are?"

The sudden attention surprises Callie, but she shakes it off quickly, taking the other woman's hand and giving it a firm pump before letting it go. "Callie Torres. Pleasure to meet you."

The tall blonde gives her a too-wide smile that Callie knows has to be forced. "So…how do you know Zona?"

The brunette glances over at Arizona for a second, her mind once again going back to that night in the restroom.

"Uh…" she starts off, cheeks reddening a little, "Through Tim…we became friends after he introduced us."

"Oh…just friends?"

Callie's eyebrows rise slightly at the blonde's blatant implication, and Heather immediately notices, holding her hands out apologetically.

"I'm sorry…I'm just not used to Zona having any female friends besides April."

Callie has only heard of April briefly, but she smiles and nods anyway, curiosity blooming in her chest.

"Wait, Arizona doesn't have other female friends?" she questions, and immediately, Arizona clears her throat uncomfortably.

"Not that I'm not thrilled you two are getting along so well, but I was really looking forward to eating breakfast—"

Heather makes a face of faux-embarrassment like she hadn't the slightest clue she was being intrusive. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll get out of your hair," she says quickly interrupting the blonde. "But hey, don't be a stranger. I would love to get together again sometime…With the both of you." Heather adds on the last part courteously, but Callie can tell by the way her eyes are glued to Arizona that she doesn't really care whether or not the brunette joins.

"Uh, okay," Arizona responds, smiling until Heather finally leaves the table. They wait until the blonde has received her order and left the diner to speak again.

"Wow, _Zona_. You have quite the admirer," Callie teases lowly, leaning in over the booth table. Arizona groans.

"God, don't call me 'Zona'. I hate that." Callie laughs, cocking an eyebrow.

"More than 'Battleship'?"

"More than 'Battleship."

* * *

After breakfast, the two separate: Callie going to a Kappa Gamma Delta meeting (apparently she's their treasurer), and Arizona going to Sociology class. Time flies after that, and it isn't long before the blonde arrives back to her condo, stressed and exhausted. Tim is sitting on the couch, his legs propped up on the coffee table. There's a half-empty bottle of beer in his hand, and some basketball game playing on TV.

When he hears the door open, he turns toward the sound, an immediate smile taking over his lips. "Sis!"

"Brother," Arizona smiles back a bit less excitedly. She's so tired, all she wants to do is sleep. "I thought you and Callie were supposed to be going on a date at 7?" she asks, checking her watch. It was 6:30. Tim's eyes suddenly widen, and he jumps up quickly from the couch.

"Oh, shit!"

"You forgot?!" Arizona asks, half-disbelievingly, half-amused. He makes a guilty face, running quickly to his bedroom. The blonde laughs quietly at him, setting her car keys down on the counter before placing her backpack beside the couch. She moves toward the kitchen, hoping Tim hasn't eaten all the leftover pizza from last night.

"I'm taking her to this new Indian place downtown," Tim yells from the back room, "It's a surprise though. Told her to dress casual."

Arizona furrows her brow. "You sure she'll like that?" she inquires, and Tim makes a 'psh' sound.

"Yeah, of course. Callie loves surprises."

"Yeah but—"

She's cut off by Tim scrambling to the front, looking rushed but handsomely dressed. He's wearing a fitted red shirt and dark jeans, and his hair is brushed back neatly enough. "Gotta go, Sis. See you later."

He gives her a quick kiss on the cheek causing her to make a "bleh" sound and scrunch up her face. She thinks a little more about Tim and his date after he leaves, but then, quickly decides she'd rather not.

"At least, I can finally go to sleep," she sighs optimistically, pulling a cold slice of pizza from the fridge and taking a bite. At that moment, her phone begins ringing. She pulls it from her pocket and answers.

"I need you to come over," April says almost immediately from the other end.

"Uh, Hello to you too," Arizona snorts, taking another bite of her pizza.

The redhead exhales heavily. "I'm serious. Alex is already here. Come on." Arizona's eyebrows rise in surprise. _Alex never gets there first._

"Did something happen?" she asks concernedly, and a beat passes before the other woman answers, her voice a little sniffily.

"Yeah," she all but whimpers.

And Arizona's out of the house and in her car, ten minutes later.

* * *

"I just think it's weird that Jackson confesses his love for me." She does air quotes at the word love, rolling her eyes before continuing. "But then gets a girlfriend two weeks later." Yes, this was the emergency. Jackson had changed his Facebook status to 'in a relationship', and the redhead had found it serious enough to call for an emergency meeting.

Arizona groans exhaustedly. "April, please…if we talk about this anymore I might become an alcoholic." The other woman looks from the blonde to the half-drunken wine bottle gripped loosely in her hand. She gasps loudly, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"Is that my Chateau Montelena?" she exclaims loudly, and Arizona furrows her brow, glancing down at the bottle but finding the tiny words a little blurred.

"Uh…no?" the blonde answers though her mouth can't help but stretch down uncertainly. Upon seeing this, April walks around the coffee table separating them and indignantly plucks the bottle from her friend's hand. She reads the label quickly before shooting a glare at the intoxicated woman. "You always come over here and drink the most expensive thing!"

"I didn't know it was expensive," the blonde sputters overly-loud. (Arizona has always had a problem with volume when she's inebriated.) "How am I supposed to know what Chapoo M-Montl," she struggles with the name for a bit longer before waving her hands in angry confusion. "Whatever the hell you call that. How was I supposed to know it was expensive?"

"I don't know Arizona. How about asking?" April all but screams though she's more frustrated about her Jackson situation than Arizona drinking her wine. Heck, she didn't even buy the wine; Jackson did. He gave it to her as a birthday present.

"Would you two stop catfighting?" Alex interrupts the argument from his seat on the couch. He hasn't really been talking at all since he got to April's house. Mostly just texting, and every now and then grunting when the two women say something of interest. He turns toward the blonde, his eyebrows knitted into a stern expression. "Go drink some water, Arizona. You're drunk."

"No, I'm not!"

He waves off her response before turning to April. "And you," he says in disbelief, "No one wants to hear you bitch about Jackson. You dumped the guy for Christ's sake! Either get back with him or leave him alone."

April crosses her arms and hmphs. "Technically, we were never actually together."

"Whatever," Alex dismisses, "We don't want to hear about it."

"That's totally not fair," the redhead fires back, "I listened to you bitch about Jo for a whole week. And you," she says, looking toward Arizona, "When you were with Satan, I let you talk my ear off all the time." (April sometimes refers to Mary Barish as Satan. And Alex frequently calls her 'SheDemon'.)

The blonde jumps back in when she's mentioned, almost falling off the couch in her vigor. "I was in an actual relationship though unlike you two!"

They both shoot her a withering look before Alex mutters lowly, "Barely."

The blonde releases an offended scoff before trying to indignantly shoot up from her seat on the couch. The alcohol flowing through her system though makes this task a little difficult, so inside of rising like she wanted, Arizona just wobbles a bit before falling down.

"Oh my god," she laughs into the couch cushion as her friends watch on rolling their eyes (April) and smirking (Alex). "I think I might be tipsy, guys."

"More like wasted," Alex retorts but is quickly pulled from the discussion when his phone vibrates. He picks up the device quickly and begins texting. April eyes him closely.

"You've been texting a lot tonight, Alex" she observes, causing him to narrow his eyes at her briefly before redirecting them back toward the screen.

"Hey," Arizona pipes in again from her position on the couch, drawing April's attention from the irritable man, "Do you think I should call Callie?" The question comes out of nowhere causing April furrow her brow. "What?! No!" the redhead exasperates while Alex offers an agreeing grunt. Arizona simply pouts in return, continuing to pick bits of lint from the couch.

"She and Tim had a date tonight," the blonde says absently before squinting her eyes slightly in thought, "He's taking her to some Indian place." Arizona smacks her lips. "She doesn't even like Indian food."

Both of her friends look at her with scrutiny, but she doesn't even notice. She just keeps picking lint from the couch cushion.


End file.
